The Last Days Of Socrates Analysis

In The Last Days of Socrates one gets to examine the character of Socrates through the eyes of Plato himself. Through each of the sections one is able to see the dilemma Socrates battles from philosophical questions, being put on trial for crimes he did not commit, given the dilemma to escape his death or face the punishment, and an explanation of why he was not afraid to die. By the end of the Phaedo it’s easy to see why Socrates is thought of as one of the greatest philosophers of the time with how he justly handles each problem he faces throughout his life.
A. Euthyphro For the question of “Do the god’s love what is holy because of its holiness, or is what is called ‘holiness’ only so called because the gods love it?” I would say …show more content…
Crito of course had other reasons as to why Socrates should escape, but to Socrates the public’s opinions whether he committed his crimes should not be of concern and escaping his fate of death would be an act of injustice. For example, Socrates explains that it 's not necessary to value all opinions people hold, but regard the sound instead of the flawed (Plato, 85). He also enters the Laws of Athens as a reason to act justly, even in the face of death. For instance, being that the laws have always worked in his favor of keeping the world fair, he understood since he has had a chance to plead his case and he failed to persuade the jury he must now obey the punishment one is to receive for the crime accused of (Plato, 89). Along with wanting to do the right thing by the law; Socrates is also worried his ways of not following the rules will follow him into his next life when he faces the judges of the underworld (Plato, 94). In my opinion, Socrates was right to stay and take his punishment; even though he was not truly guilty, because in Socrates mind he is doing what is gods will for his life. It also showed how much Socrates is willing to follow the extent of the law because of his beliefs that to do an unjust act will only bring an injustice back to him in another form, hence he would rather do what is more right in the eyes of the law than in the opinion of the masses. Also, with Socrates philosophy he believed in the immortality of the soul, consequently he did not believe his execution was truly the end of himself and the arguments against his execution at this time would do no good unless thought to make a difference; which at this point it was too late to hope for the